Eternal youth is a subject that has intrigued humanity throughout the centuries.

Today scientists are looking for ways to achieve eternal youth through the study of aging. The processes that accompany or cause aging are called “markers of aging.”

Here are some important markers:

• oxidative stress – Toxins, radiation, stress and even the body’s metabolism create free radicals, which break down other molecules. Normally, the body absorbs free radicals and balance is maintained. But when the body is unable to cope, oxidative stress spreads like wildfire, causing rapid aging, like a cut apple turning brown and wrinkled.
• Inflammation – Usually involves pain, redness, swelling, and heat as the body tries to repair the damage and eliminate the invaders. As we age, there is a greater tendency for the body to overreact, going into inflammatory overdrive and causing diseases such as atherosclerosis, arthritis, allergies and autoinflammation, when the body turns against itself.
• cell proliferation – Cells are programmed to live by certain rules and then die when time runs out. When cells break the rules, refuse to die and instead begin to divide into more rebellious cells, this can be dangerous. Normally, the body recognizes the rogue cells and destroys them. However, as we age, our immune systems become compromised and these rogue cells can turn into cancer.
• reduced adaptation to stress – Age is characterized by a reduced ability to deal with stress and its consequences: high blood pressure and blood sugar, weakened digestion, compromised immunity, reduced sexual performance.

find the solution

Mankind has studied the problem of aging for thousands of years. Indian Ayurvedic medicine was dedicated to keeping people healthy so that they could live a full period of 100 years or more. And a whole branch of Ayurveda dealt with Rasayana, the science of longevity.

longevity herbs

Writers of early Ayurvedic textbooks extolled the youth-preserving virtues of a number of herbs with interesting names such as haritaki, amalaki, guduchi, ashvagandha, shatavari, pippali, shilajit. Recipes were given for making jams, wines, tablets, and other vital preparations that are still used today.

Modern research on the rasayana herbs has yielded fascinating results – all of these herbs have a combination of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-stress properties! They reverse the markers of aging!

Ayurveda recommends rasayana herbs for couples planning to conceive, for pregnant mothers, for newborn babies, children and adults, and for those in their mature years. Ayurvedic practitioners can tailor a lifetime rasayana program to suit your age, body type, genetic weaknesses, and health history.

panchakarma

However, for these herbs to work optimally, it was felt that the body must be cleansed of toxins. Just as it is futile to replace a car’s oil without ensuring a clean oil filter, the body’s cells cannot effectively absorb rejuvenating herbs without first removing clogging debris and toxins.

Panchakarma is Ayurveda’s powerful method of detoxifying the body, including (research has found) environmental toxins lodged in fatty tissues for dozens of years. A panchakarma treatment is traditionally recommended twice a year, at the change of seasons. This is followed by a rasayana program of rejuvenating herbs and a nutritious diet.

Diet

Ayurveda recommends a diet that is easily digestible yet nutritious. Most foods are cooked to increase digestibility, so raw foods make up only a minor part of a healthy diet. Spices are used to improve digestibility.

How you eat is even more important than what you eat! According to Ayurveda, relaxation during meals is essential for proper digestion and proper tissue formation.

A variety of good quality fats are needed for health, especially to reduce excessive inflammation. Not only do we need omega-3 oils to balance the omega-6, but we also need saturated fats. All traditional societies have used saturated fats, even in India: ghee (clarified butter) in the north and coconut oil in the south.

Eat foods rich in antioxidants, such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Use spices like ginger, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, and tamarind. Clove oil is one of the most powerful antioxidants known. Plums, grapes, pomegranates, and berries are rich in antioxidant agents.

Ayurvedic dietary advice does not set rules or contradict modern nutritional advice; a qualified physician will help you integrate the knowledge to suit your constitution and personal needs.

Lifestyle

Manage your stress to avoid the damage it can cause through free radical formation, poor digestion, and a weakened immune system. Learn and use relaxation tools on a daily basis, such as yogic breathing.

Breathing and relaxation help the body reach states where it can repair itself and balance itself. They also increase prana, or the organizing life force, and this increases energy and the body’s ability to handle stress.

seizing the mind

Avoid anger, anxiety, jealousy, envy, and other negative emotions and thoughts. Every negative thought triggers a cascade of stress chemicals in the body, resulting in physical damage. Cultivate self-awareness and switch to more positive thoughts and emotions if you want to stay young.

Ayurveda says that disease is often caused by “faulty intellect”: confused thinking in which we make unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices. Controlling stressful thoughts provides mental clarity, in which we make intuitive decisions that are appropriate for health.

Traditional yoga can give you a systematic way to manage stress and achieve greater mental clarity and self-awareness.

stress-free physical activity

Moderate physical activity such as Yoga keeps the body functioning well, strengthening the immune system and the body’s adaptability to stress. However, excessive exercise increases the formation of free radicals and degenerative disorders. Ayurveda recommends exercising to slightly increase your breathing and sweat a little.

Act young to stay young

Keep a youthful attitude. What do children and young people do most of the time? They play!

Find ways to become playful and childish, and this will train the body to stay young as well. Studies have found that people who feel young have a lower biological age than people who feel older, even though they are the same chronological age.

Realign with natural rhythms

Finally, take time to realign with nature. Being in nature has a way of reminding us of the flow of life, the perpetual cycle of growth. When we feel part of the natural growth cycles again, we relax and allow our body to function at its best and gracefully mature in its own natural time frame.

So is longevity real?

The true meaning of “longevity” is the optimal functioning of tissues and life processes, throughout our lives. The sciences of Ayurveda and Yoga possibly offer the most comprehensive system for optimizing health and delaying aging. I believe this offers tremendous potential for the quality of human life and deserves further research and investigation.

There is no single “one size fits all” solution. Ayurveda recognizes that everyone has unique needs; and therefore building a relationship with a qualified Ayurvedic doctor is the suggested way if you are serious about excellent health and longevity.